Bride's family invites unhoused community to a $35,000 wedding feast after the groom walks out

Weddings are meant to be joyful, but things took a heartbreaking turn for Quinn Duane when her fiancé walked out just days before their big day. Instead of letting the moment define her, Duane and her mom turned the $35,000 wedding into an opportunity for kindness by inviting an unhoused community to the event. "A lot of times, people want the story to be personal, but that is not what it is. The focus should be charity and doing something great," she told KCRA.

Quinn Duane, from Sacramento, California, was heartbroken when her fiancé called just days before the wedding to call it off. Understandably, she felt lost and embarrassed. But her mom, Kari, saw an opportunity to turn things around. Since the ceremony and reception had already been paid for, Kari decided they could use the event to give back. "When I found out on Monday that the wedding would not be taking place, it just seemed like, of course, this would be something that we would do to give back," she said. Talking about her daughter, she added, "I feel a lot of heartache and heartbreak for her, but I will take away something good from this."

Kari spread the word, and although Duane didn’t attend the banquet, she supported the cause. "When you have a ton of food, what better way to give it to the hungry, those who need it," Duane said. The first to arrive at the venue was a woman who was "too old to work" and could not afford rent. Then, the venue began to fill up with more people, all of whom were thankful for a single meal. Including Rashid Abdullah, who brought his wife and five children. He said, "When you're going through a hard time and a struggle for you to get out to do something different and with your family, it was really a blessing." His wife, Erika, was also grateful to the family for inviting them, and added, "To lose out on something so important to yourself and then give it to someone else is really giving, really kind."

The meal consisted of salmon, tri-tip, appetizers, salad, gnocchi and cauliflower, made for about 120 guests. About 90 people showed up. "The most overwhelming thing was how many people were positively impacted," Duane said. When asked what she takes out of the whole situation, she said, "Doing something positive doesn't need to be overcomplicated. Mine came out of a bad situation and regardless, it's important to pay forward and do something positive in the world. Put the positive energy out there."

Other than that, the family also had paid up for a honeymoon in Belize. Duan and her mom decided to make full use of it and took a trip together. It takes a lot of courage to turn a tragic situation into a blessing for many others. Instead of focusing on something bad, the family decided to help the community around them and that is something those people will always remember.

Editor's note: This article was originally published on February 5, 2024. It has since been updated.